Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1887-02-08

from sale to sale our prices vary, the
regular rates of the market being no
guide to our prices. Our figures are
made by the auctioneer, the assignee,
or the tottering and broken concern
itself, who to avert the impending
ruin, will sell at any sacrifice.
RErRosrECTIoS.
Eleven eventful years ago we flung
our banner to the breeze with the IN
scription, "Auctiun Goods-Net Spot
Cash Before Delivery" Our capital
was forty thousand dollars below zero,
backed by au ambition and pluck that
laughed to derision and looked with
lofty scorn upon the tremendous odds
and the bare idea Of" give up"
this was our first paragraph in our
salutatiOn:
We have about $3.50 of auction
bargains from to-day's sale, which we
will butcher at five per cent. advance,
money down." The sign had been
up an hour before our first sale was
made, at night we had S2G1 after
paying one dollar rent, and one dol
lar each to Clyne, Oppie, Bob Jones
and the proprietor. We had not even
q paper of pins left-all was sold
our bills paid within twelve hours
And this was repeated throughout
the year, only doubling up day after
day and month after month; and
there were times when we were sell
ling ZOO day, that at night our
stock was less than $500! We bought
bargains and sold bargains. In Jan.
1877 this paragraph rang out with a
metallic peal:
"Deal in good, solid goods, give
your word, never to be broken, and
live up to that religion ofathirty-six
inches to the yard, and one hundred
cents to the dollar, aye, go beyond
this golden rule, and take your hard
and powerful cash and buy your
goods so that you may give two dol
lars worth for a single dollar, and
print in letters of gold over your door
way that one little silent word that
will buy anything on Gods green
earth, that everlasting, talismanic
monosyllahle, cash."
Twenty-four hours out of twenty
four, buying SIedge Hammers and
selling Sledge Hammers, bad driven
us from our IiIiputian Headquarters.
We moved in the night and six trucks
carried everything we had in the
world.
In '79 we were out of the woods
and our auction thunderholts were
plowing through the wavering ranks
of King Credit and competition stood
palsied by the rattling vOlleys and the
trip hammer logic of our unanswer-
able knock down arguments and un-
der the "grape and canister" of
that day this was the Rebel yell that
startled the slumber of King Credit
at day break:
Tremendous lots of surplus and
over-surpIus stock from factories
driven to the wall by grim, hungry
army of unpaid operatives, huge
stocks at 80 cents in the dollar. Reg
ular prices not dreamed of in the
struggle that means life or DEATH
Our figures and quotations shifting
and changing every day, bearing no
relation to the aristOcratic but broken
windcd upper crust concern that re-
ceives II dozen on consignment where
our daredevil buyers sweep lots of
a thousand gross and hungry for
other victims, our disasters and bat
tlefclds where ability always masters
cheek, and the solid cash smashes the
moonshine merchant of credit. In
the name of God in heaven. what
chance is there for these antedeluvian
specimens of humanity who call them
selves buyers, who should have lived
and died in the B. G. ages of ancient
history, measuring their strength with
men whose brain is atire with that di-
vine genius that masters impossible
tiles, whose tireless energies never
let up. and whose minds are bent
upon big success, and who listen to
no music save the clear natalie ring
of the everlasting and almighty dol
/ Tar
10. The iron rule of five per ct.
upon genuine bargains had driven us
to 356, and this was our January
music:
DO nothing by halves, cut prices
down below every man, move the
stock rapidly, and if there is an item
that hangs, put the knife into it and
let it go. Above all things avoid the
common and pernicious practice OF
piling on the profits--many bargain
has been robbed of its force by pIac-
ing too heavy a margin of profit. un-
til it was no longer the hard hitter ii
might have been.
''The house employs no travellers.
has no drummers, and but one price,
the unbusinesslike practice of crowd
ing orders is under no circumstances
permitted, and every item of our cat
alogueis presented as an advertise
ment, as rock bottom, and as full and